Germany and France have tentatively agreed on the joint production of a new generation of tanks, Defense Ministers Boris Pistorius and Sebastien Lecornu announced on Friday.
The two agreed in Berlin to share the production of the future tank, equipped with a wide range of support equipment, including a link with drones.
"Today we achieved a breakthrough in a project that we can without exaggeration describe as historic," Pistorius said.
The future combat system represents a "generational leap," Lekornu said at a joint press conference.
Germany will play a leading role in the MGCS ground combat system project, while France will lead the future FCAS air system.
The new tank will replace Leopards and Leclercs, and will, among other things, use drones, artificial intelligence and laser systems.
The dispute over the distribution of work in the development and production of the tank had previously strained relations between allies and neighbors. They still have an agreement on FCAS worth billions of euros with Spain from May 2021.
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